The present invention relates to surgical instruments and methods, particularly those for treating prostate tissue, and to surgical kits for use in such methods.
FIG. 1 illustrates the anatomical position of the prostate 10 (including lateral lobes 15) and adjacent tissue including the seminal vesicles 11, bladder neck 12, and pelvic tissues including sphincter muscles 14.
Prostate disease is a significant health risk for males. Diseases of the prostate include prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia or hypertrophy (BPH) and prostatic carcinoma. Benign prostatic hypertrophy is a very common disorder, affecting an estimated 12 million men in the United States alone. BPH is a chronic condition and is strongly age related; approximately 50% of men over 50, 75% of men over the age of 70 and 90% of men over the age of 80 have BPH.
BPH is treated with a large number of therapeutic modalities. Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) is a preferred method of treating BPH. A typical TURP involves general anesthesia, and the placement of a resectoscope in the urethra to remove multiple small chips of hyperplastic prostatic tissue, thereby relieving the obstruction by removing the adenoma. Complications from TURP include bleeding, incontinence, retrograde ejaculation and impotence.
Examples of surgical devices for prostate tissue treatment are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,461,283; 5,672,171 and 5,630,794 and PCT International Publication Nos. WO 92/10142 and WO 93/15664 (the entire contents of each of which are herein incorporated by reference). Examples of invasive techniques that surgically damage prostate tissue include laser treatments (including side firing, contact and interstitial laser procedures), and transurethral ethanol ablation of the prostate (TEAP) as described in DiTrolio, J. V., Transurethral Ablation of the Prostate, presented at the American Urological Association 94th Annual Meeting, March 1999; and DiTrolio, J. V., Chemoablation of the Prostate with Dehydrated Ethanol for Treatment of BPH, 5th International Consultation on BPH, June 2000 in Paris, France (the entire contents of each of which are herein incorporated by reference). Examples of devices and methods for surgically damaging prostate tissue are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,322,503; 5,562,703; 5,861,002; 6,231,591 and 6,461,296.